I turned reality into a romantic comedy.

Because he had already said much to Zhu Wenyun during their second phone call last night, and considering he had decided to spend today with Xu Youwei, Chen Junqian planned to leave immediately after changing his phone. Unexpectedly, Shen Nianqiu leaned in first and whispered an apology in his ear:

"I'm sorry about what happened yesterday. Actually, I knew she took your phone, and I should have told my brother immediately."

"No... I understand."

Chen Junqian didn't pay much attention to Shen Nianqiu's apology, because from his perspective, his sister was also a victim. After all, Zhu Wenyun was trying to peek at the chat history between him and Shen Nianqiu. So he simply nodded and let the matter drop, which relieved Shen Nianqiu.

It's safe to say that Xu Youwei wasn't the only one who didn't sleep well last night. However, unlike Xu Youwei, who was forced to relocate and therefore didn't sleep well, she simply had too many thoughts and inadvertently fell into insomnia. She would always involuntarily put herself in Zhu Wenyun's situation again and again, imagining her feelings and reactions when Chen Junqian treated her that way. It was normal for her not to be able to sleep.

After finishing up everything from last night, Chen Junqian and Xu Youwei, who was still yawning, turned and left together. Shen Nianqiu and Zhu Wenyun were both going to leave Beijing today to go home, since the recording of the show had temporarily ended and neither of them had any travel plans. Chen Junqian stayed an extra day to celebrate Xu Youwei's birthday and would not officially set off for Guoning until tomorrow.

Only after the two left did Shen Nianqiu stand there thoughtfully mutter one more thing:

"Xu Youwei doesn't look like she slept well last night?"

Zhu Wenyun merely twitched the corner of her mouth in response, then turned and left.

----------------------------------

Chen Junqian and his two children's first stop was the Forbidden City. They originally wanted to see the flag-raising ceremony, but because they were staying a bit far away and were short on time, they had to get up very early, so they gave up on that idea and started with the Forbidden City.

Just as the three of them had bought their tickets and were about to go in, Lin Mu, whom they had arranged to meet the day before, made a video call, thus beginning his cyber cloud tour.

There were quite a few tourists holding up their phones here, or rather, most of them were taking pictures as they walked. So Chen Junqian was quite comfortable holding up his phone the whole time, leading Lin Mu from the Hall of Supreme Harmony, the Hall of Central Harmony, and the Hall of Preserving Harmony in the first three halls. They first went to the Western Six Palaces where Empress Dowager Cixi once lived and the Hall of Mental Cultivation, where the emperors of the mid-to-late Qing Dynasty actually lived and governed. However, they couldn't go inside, so they could only walk around outside the halls and look at the specific layout and decoration through the windows.

Although junior high school history hadn't covered the Qing Dynasty yet, and Xu Youwei and Lin Mu's combined knowledge in this area wasn't enough to put Chen Xi at the bottom, the sheer number of Qing Dynasty dramas in the past two years was truly astonishing. Even the tour guide leading the group next to them often started by mentioning characters and locations from those popular Qing Dynasty dramas when giving examples and telling stories. Chen Junqian simply handed his phone to Xu Youwei so they could listen in on the explanations, while he went to his dad's side to take pictures with him.

"Are you on the phone with Lin Mu?"

"Yeah, she heard last night that we were going out today, so she asked if she could come along. So we video-called. But in less than a day, she'll probably use up all the data in my data plan for this month."

Two years have passed since the life-sharing conversation between father and son in Qinhuangdao. Looking at his son, who is now almost as tall as him and is a middle school student, Chen Jun feels a little dazed.

The main reason is that he has spent most of his time in Tangshan in recent years and has not been able to witness Chen Junqian's growth every moment. However, his own son does not seem to be a cause for concern. He has even appeared on CCTV-1 this year. When his colleagues talk about their children's education, they always ask him for advice on raising children.

What could he say? It's mainly because the child himself is ambitious and hardworking.

Although these words sounded like something out of Versailles, there really wasn't much else to say. After all, Chen Jun and Wang Hongling were never the kind of parents who would take credit for their child's educational achievements. Even when they came to Beijing as relatives of a contestant and were interviewed by the program team of "Chinese Character Dictation Competition," they said the same thing. However, the press release immediately changed it to something like "good at guiding the child's interests," "not forcibly interfering with the child's life trajectory," and "establishing a good family environment for the child, fastening the first button of his life correctly." Even Chen Jun himself was stunned when he saw it.

To be honest, if Chen Junqian hadn't gone to the hotel to meet Zhu Wenyun and Shen Nianqiu this morning, Chen Jun wouldn't have even realized that his son knew more girls than he thought. He originally thought it was just a love triangle with two girls, namely Xu Youwei and Lin Mu.

Lin Mu goes without saying; the relationship between the two families is there, the affection between the children is there, and even their business dealings are there. He and Lin Youfeng often joke about this, and both sides are extremely satisfied with each other. If the two children weren't still young and if arranged marriages weren't so common now, they might already be set up in that direction.

Xu Youwei's situation was much the same. Chen Jun's relationship with his old boss, Xu Zhiling, had also improved rapidly over the years under Xu's deliberate cultivation. He was originally a long-time employee of the wear-resistant factory. Even if he didn't rely on his son's money, he had the ability and qualifications. After honing his skills as the workshop director for a few years, he could naturally be promoted to a higher level of management. Moreover, Xu Youwei had a very good relationship with his parents, Chen Junqian's grandparents. The girl herself was also well-behaved and obedient. In every aspect, she seemed no less capable than Lin Mu.

However, it seems that the above conclusions are no longer applicable today. What Chen Jun didn't expect was that Shen Nianqiu, whom he met once at the Shanghai World Expo, still maintains close contact with his son. She gives him a mobile phone and accompanies him on TV shows. It seems that she also has feelings for him. It's to the point that people are worried about their son's future and the future of the Chen family.

It can only be said that Chen Jun is never worried about his son dating too early, because Chen Junqian has always been a child who has his own ideas and a sense of propriety in doing things.

He is now more worried about his son being in a relationship too early.

Watching Xu Youwei, who had been holding her phone in front of him, run back and pulled Chen Junqian to see the Zhenfei Well, and Lin Mu, who still exuded genuine joy and liveliness on the phone screen, Chen Jun even subconsciously had the strange thought that some cabbages in someone else's field had become spirits, grown legs, and were thrown out to be dug up by him.

At the next parent-teacher conference, should I have my wife talk to their parents about this issue separately?

Just as Chen Jun was thinking this, far away in Guoning, Wang Hongling received a call from Chen Xi's mother inviting her to play mahjong that afternoon.

"By the way, when is Junqian coming back?"

"In the next couple of days, how about tomorrow? What's up?"

"What else could it be? Xixi misses her brother."

“This child has indeed been close to her brother since she was little.”

"Of course, I think she's even closer to her than to me and her dad. She asks about me three or four times a day. But school starts soon, so Xixi will have to trouble your family again."

"Look at what you're saying—it's just a meal. We're all relatives, don't be so polite. Don't worry, it's not just about eating, you can even stay at my house. Anyway, Old Chen isn't here right now, it's just me and Junqian at home. Xixi isn't the kind of child who's hard to manage, I've watched her grow up."

My younger sister is my childhood sweetheart and a high-ranking superior.

In other words, the younger sister can do most of what the childhood sweetheart can do.

For example, there's a character named Lin Mu who, despite his tragic circumstances, only managed to achieve the "Time to Get Up" achievement about twenty times in the four years since his rebirth.

P.S.: Thank you for reading and subscribing.

Chapter 61: I'm very happy right now (Part 2)

As we all know, when children play together, the main role of adults is to pay for the games and watch from a distance.

However, it seemed that Chen Jun didn't need to do either of these things with Chen Junqian and Xu Youwei. Especially when the two were preparing to make a birthday cake in the afternoon, since the shop had its own professional photography equipment and photographers to take photos for customers, there was no need to focus on taking pictures like when they visited the Forbidden City in the morning. So, they simply agreed on a time to end the visit and planned to go to a nearby souvenir shop to pick out some gifts for Chen Junqian to take back to his wife and relatives.

Although Chen Junqian had checked on Dianping last night that the shop here was quite luxurious in terms of birthday scene decorations and props, and had specifically chosen the best package, they were still somewhat surprised by what they saw when they actually walked into the private room.

The entire birthday venue was decorated in a soft pink and white color scheme, creating a dreamy and warm atmosphere. At the entrance was a light archway cleverly woven from hundreds of matte white and metallic silver balloons, which shimmered with a pearly luster and a star-like glow under the lights. Balloon chains cascaded down gracefully like a waterfall, guiding the two into this little world.

The letter lights hanging from the ceiling spell out Xu Youwei's name, not an abbreviation but her full name. Each outline radiates a warm glow, like the gentlest star in the night sky. Connected neon lights hanging down outline cute heart or star patterns, their light reflecting off the transparent balloons below, refracting into dazzling, mesmerizing colors. Several uniquely shaped candle lamps are interspersed among them, their flickering flames realistically depicted, providing a fairytale-like romantic interplay of light and shadow.

The surrounding walls weren't neglected either; layers of pink paper tassels cascaded down like a waterfall of cherry blossoms, adding a touch of soft texture and sweet dynamism. Banners, printed with words of blessing, swayed gently in the breeze from the air conditioner. Curtain lights wrapped around the window frames and the main decorative elements, their tiny LED beads like carelessly scattered diamonds, making the entire space sparkle.

On the ground, artificial pink petals were carefully scattered to form a winding path, and the air seemed to be filled with a sweet fragrance, waiting for the heroine to make her appearance.

Wow, it's so beautiful.

The first to speak was Lin Mu, who was just looking out through her phone screen. Although she would decorate for her birthday every year, it was usually just about putting up balloons, arranging fairy lights, and pushing a cake cart. This was the first time she had ever seen a specially decorated birthday venue that was full of ritual thanks to her financial power. As she spoke, she made Chen Junqian, who was holding the phone, walk around so that she could see the whole room.

On a table in the room were a dazzling array of costumes and props. The headdresses alone were enough to dazzle Xu Youwei and Chen Junqian. Lin Mu, being the most knowledgeable about this among the three, took the initiative to pick out a birthday outfit for her good friend.

“Every year on my birthday, my mom takes me to buy it. Haven’t you seen it before, Qianqian?”

"No, no, no, I can only say that my memory is still stuck in the kind of paper crowns that we would wear on our heads when we were kids celebrating our birthdays. Has it really evolved to this extent now?"

As he spoke, Chen Junqian glanced again at the astonishing quantity and variety of goods in front of him:

"So now there are already so many styles of birthday hats alone? And what's with these birthday sunglasses? Or is this a recent fashion trend?"

"...I don't understand, I don't understand at all."

Today's birthday girl also seemed to be an outsider who didn't know much about the entertainment industry. Xu Youwei's birthdays are usually very simple. When she's at home, she doesn't even want to eat a few bites of cake, let alone go out fully dressed up with all those props for a grand ceremony. So Lin Mu simply started his remote guidance:

"This pink polka dot hat with an inverted cylindrical shape looks really cute and round on the head. Vivi, would you like to try it on? I think it would suit you quite well."

"It looks a bit like they're playing a roadblock zombie."

Holding the birthday hat that Lin Mu had chosen, Xu Youwei looked troubled.

"If you don't like this kind, the colorful cake hats here are also very nice. I wanted to buy them last year."

"Cake hat..."

Following the direction Lin Mu was pointing, Chen Junqian's lips twitched slightly, and he subconsciously muttered:

"So the name 'cake hat' means that it looks like you're wearing a cake on your head."

If it weren't for the fact that we're still a decade or so ahead, he would probably have started with a battle cry like, "Baby, baby, you're a sweet and soft strawberry cream cake!" Well, the Xu Youwei he was trying on did look quite like her, which made Chen Junqian chuckle.

Xu Youwei, who had been closely watching Chen Junqian's facial expressions the whole time, subconsciously took off her hat again upon seeing this scene. She seemed to feel extremely ashamed as well, and thus regressed from a sweet and soft strawberry cream cake back into a human being.

"How about we try a quirky style? Anyway, it's just Qianqian and Weiwei there, so we don't have to worry about being seen by others. For example, Weiwei's hat, which only shows her face and looks like a gift box or a picture frame, would be a lot of fun to take pictures with."

"No, it's too ugly."

This time, Xu Youwei simply and directly refused. She had no intention of creating a mysterious, funny, or abstract persona for herself, so in the end, she chose the approach of a ruthless client who had tormented the service provider before finally reverting to the initial draft. She pointed to a spot on the table:

"How about we choose the simplest type of crown?"

Of course, although it's a crown, the ones prepared here aren't the cheap paper crowns that cake shops give away with birthday cakes. They're made of harder materials like plastic or even metal. They're mainly divided into two categories based on color: gold and silver. They do look quite like the kind of crowns princesses would wear in fairy tales, which made Chen Junqian involuntarily think of the Disney animated film "Frozen," which will be released in China next February. That was also the first Disney animated film that Chen Junqian saw in a movie theater.

With this in mind, Chen Junqian also took the initiative to recommend the silver one to Xu Youwei. After a little selection, the headdress issue was finally resolved. Following this process, after selecting and confirming all the other accessories and styles of the birthday outfit, the two officially began the birthday cake making process. Only after the cake was finished would Xu Youwei change into that outfit that looked incredibly troublesome.

Since she was already wearing short-sleeved clothes, Xu Youwei didn't have to bother rolling up her sleeves. After washing her hands carefully at the sink, she held up her hands in front of Chen Junqian as if to show off, her fair arms and wrists glistening under the light.

However, Chen Junqian didn't seem to be thinking about anything in particular, because he was already fully focused on being a chef. Considering he wanted Xu Youwei to feel involved, he simply handed her the eggs from the basket beside him and said concisely:

"Take four eggs, and separate the yolks and whites for later use."

"no problem!"

Xu Youwei nodded confidently, but her actions were clearly not as easy as her words suggested. After all, she wasn't a kitchen pro like Zhu Wenyun. Although she didn't make the same clumsy mistakes as a beginner, such as throwing eggshells into a bowl and cracking yolks into the trash can, she still messed things up quite a bit. Soon, her hands were covered in sticky egg white, and she had to run to wash her hands again in a bit of a sorry state. It was like a real-life version of "Kitchen Mayhem," which made Lin Mu, who was giving random instructions on the other side of the screen, laugh heartily.

However, with Chen Junqian as a steady anchor, the kitchen wouldn't really turn into a breakup kitchen. While skillfully taking appropriate amounts of ingredients such as low-gluten flour, cornstarch, white sugar, milk, corn oil, and black sesame paste and placing them aside, he and Lin Mu also watched and admired Xu Youwei's actions in a rather unscrupulous manner. After a while, under the threat of the other party's angry glare, he suppressed his mischievous smile, took the bowl of egg yolks that he had finally managed to separate, added sugar to it and beat it until smooth, then poured in milk, black sesame paste, etc., mixed them together, and then sifted in low-gluten flour and cornstarch.

After making a rough judgment on Xu Youwei's current cooking level based on just this one detail, Chen Junqian consciously began to assign her some low-difficulty but highly engaging tasks, such as having her stir the raw materials that had just been mixed for making the cake.

Just like elementary school students who dream of becoming scientists and always enjoy shaking solvents in glass beakers, kitchen novices generally enjoy stirring, feeling like they're playing a game, constantly stirring the mixture in the bowl. Xu Youwei was no exception; she loved the feeling as soon as she started.

After Chen Junqian had whipped the egg whites repeatedly until they were foamy, he added a few drops of lemon juice and sugar, processing them into fine white foam. When he looked up again, Xu Youwei was still happily stirring the egg whites, oblivious to the few drops of batter splattered on her face. Chen Junqian found it amusing and gently scraped the batter off her chin and the corners of her mouth.

"Be careful, it's all over your face."

Lin Mu on the other side of the screen nodded in unison and commented:

"Actually, I reminded her just now... but Vivi didn't hear me at all. But it does look quite fun, a bit like playing one of those cooking games on 4399 in real life."

Watching Chen Junqian pour the already well-mixed egg whites into the egg yolk mixture in her hand, Xu Youwei's face also flushed slightly. She let his fingertips brush against the corner of her mouth, and stubbornly retorted:

"Because it's quite stress-relieving, I didn't notice it."

This statement cannot be entirely dismissed as mere stubbornness. After all, she had indeed begun to unconsciously ignore Lin Mu's words, focusing more of her attention on Chen Junqian, who was using his fingers and tongue to gauge and confirm the sweetness of the food. A strange feeling suddenly arose in her heart, as if the two of them were cooking together.

Cooking together is, in a sense, a more intimate act than eating together.

In that instant, Xu Youwei finally understood Zhu Wenyun's thoughts as if she were experiencing them herself.

Once the ingredients were thoroughly mixed, Chen Junqian took the cake from Xu Youwei and checked it again to make sure there were no problems before putting it into the oven, which was preheated to 135 degrees Celsius and set to bake for 30 minutes. While waiting for the cake base to bake, he immediately began working on the top layer of the cake.

"Hmm... Yoyo, what do you think about making a mousse one?"

After thinking for a moment, Chen Junqian asked Xu Youwei.

"OK."

Xu Youwei readily agreed to Chen Junqian's suggestion. She never cared about the style or taste of the cake; she simply enjoyed the atmosphere. So, no matter what suggestion he made, she would probably have agreed to it without hesitation.

"Then let's make a chocolate one."

After briefly checking the ingredients in the kitchen, Chen Junqian quickly came up with a plan. He continued to work at full speed, mixing the cream and cheese, adding a little sugar and chocolate sauce, and finally pouring in an appropriate amount of milk. While Xu Youwei brought the mousse mold, he mixed in the whipped cream that had been whipped to soft peaks. After doing all this, the oven dinged. He then put on oven mitts, took the baked cake out of the oven, peeled off the parchment paper to cool it down, and put it in the refrigerator to chill.

After waiting a short while, Chen Junqian methodically directed Xu Youwei to pour the prepared mousse mixture into the mousse mold, and then personally placed it on the cake base and put it into the freezer.

"It should be ready to eat in about half an hour. Yoyo, go change your clothes first?"

"Okay, I'll go then."

After temporarily taking Xu Youwei to the changing room, Chen Junqian picked up his phone, which was charging nearby, and asked Lin Mu, with whom he had been video chatting for almost a day: